Welcome Home
by Littleotter73
Summary: Part 6 and final Story in the the Salutations Series, an epilogue if you will. Takes place four years after No More Farewells, giving us an insight into Buffy and Giles' future together.


Giles leaned over his four month old son, and snapped up the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pyjamas, courtesy of Uncle Xander, as the little boy avidly sucked on his chubby little fist. The warm bottle of milk sat waiting on the side table next to the gliding chair.

"There you are, lad, dry and warm and soon to have a full tummy," he said in low voice. The baby stared up at him through hooded lids. It wouldn't be long now. Another fifteen minutes and he would be done with his fatherly duties for the day, make a cup of tea, and perhaps spend a little time on his latest research project for the museum.

As he settled into the glider and offered his son the bottle, a shadow darkened the door. Looking up, he maneuvered the bottle into his right hand without disturbing the baby and placed his left index finger over his lips.

The little girl ran up to her father and whispered, "I can't sleep, Daddy."

"Whyever not, poppet?" he asked gently.

"I miss Mummy," she sniffed, turning away so as not to let her father see her cry.

Giles gently shifted the baby in his arms to make room for his daughter and silently bid her to join him. She climbed up into his lap and snuggled into his side with a dramatic sigh.

"I miss her too, but she will be home tomorrow afternoon and we'll all go to the airport to pick her up."

"Why did she have to go?"

"Sometimes Mummy has to travel for her job. She's very important, you know. Runs her own company and everything."

"I know, but she could send Uncle Xander," Lily Giles answered brightly. "Yes! I'll tell her to make him go next time!"

The little girl was just as headstrong as her mother and Giles tried not to laugh and disturb his son. The baby's eyelids had just closed and, while he was still pulling at the nipple, his enthusiasm had tapered off.

"Ah, Lily, love, there are some things your mummy has to do herself," he explained. "She is important and people ask to see her. Besides, I think Aunt Sophie would be upset if Uncle Xander were sent off on all the business meetings and it's not fair to little James either."

Lily let out a disgruntled sound and looked at her brother. "Ollie's asleep," she whispered in her quietest voice.

"As you should be," he answered softly.

"It's hard to sleep when mummy's not home," the little girl protested, and Giles couldn't agree more. He wasn't sure he had slept more than two hours straight a night - and it wasn't the baby's fault. The lad slept a good five hours at night now.

Little Oliver released the nipple and his head lolled into his father's chest. Out like a light. Lily jumped down from her father's lap, allowing him to stand up and put the baby up on his shoulder.

"Rub his back, Daddy, he needs to burp."

Giles smiled dotingly at his daughter. At age three, she was a loving and dutiful older sister, with no signs of jealousy, although he knew that would change in the future when sibling rivalry would inevitably rear its ugly head. He coaxed a small burp from the boy, kissed his downy head, and gently placed him in the crib before taking his daughter's hand and leading her down the stairs to the kitchen.

"How about some warm milk?" He asked, picking Lily up and setting her down on the counter.

"It might do the trick," she answered in her very matter of fact, big girl way.

Giles chuckled and pulled out a small pot from the cabinet and set about warming the milk from the fridge. Lily truly made his heart sing. He thought his life was complete with Buffy, but the addition of their children brought him more joy than he imagined possible. Even over the last four months Oliver had wrapped himself around Giles' little finger and etched himself a permanent place within Giles' recently settled soul.

"Chocolate would make it better," Lily suggested, her green eyes sparkling. "And marshmallows."

"They probably would, but they won't help you get to sleep.

She looked up at him with a pout that could rival her mother's, but it didn't have the same effect. In fact, it only made him want to laugh. It didn't take long for the milk to heat up and he served her a small cup.

"Will you read me another story?" She asked hopefully after she had finished her milk.

"If you think it will help you get to sleep," Giles replied as he washed Oliver's bottle and tidied up the kitchen again.

"Of course it will, silly! That's the whole point of bedtime stories!"

He laughed and picked her up, placing her on his shoulders. "The first one didn't seem to do its job very well," he stated as he whisked her away to her bedroom.

"That's because it was only a short one, Daddy. Everybody knows longer stories work better!"

"Is that so?" he asked as he placed her on her bed and picked up the book off her nightstand. "Well, we are in luck, this story is longer."

Lily loved stories of adventure and magic and this past week he had introduced her the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Ten minutes into the latest tale, she joined her baby brother in the land of nod. He extricated himself from his daughter's embrace and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before arranging the duvet around her and placing Mr Bear in the crook of her elbow.

After turning off the lights and closing her door part way, Giles checked his watch. It wasn't yet half nine and he looked longingly towards his bedroom. God, he was tired! Work could wait. In fact, it had been waiting for the better part of two weeks. Thankfully Sir John understood the situation, his only request was that Giles' bring the children in for a visit so that he could dote on them. The man was a natural grandfather, though he had no children or grandchildren of his own. It had been a good outing earlier in the day with Sir John taking Lily around the museum and showing off the various collections. When they'd had lunch in the cafeteria the older man refused to let go of Ollie, eating his sandwich around the baby while they listened to Lily describe all the things she had seen and done in the exhibits.

As Giles sat down on the bed, the phone rang. He hoped it would be Buffy checking in ahead of her flight.

"Hey, Giles," came a cheery greeting from the other end of the line.

"Oh, good evening, Willow," he replied, pleased to hear from her, yet disappointed that it wasn't his wife calling. "How are you?"

"Good. Better than good. Just making sure you are surviving your time as a single dad. Did you like the casserole I left this morning? Sorry I missed you, but I had a meeting at the Coven this afternoon and just got home."

"Oh yes, very much thank you. And for the chocolate chip cookies. I am sorry I missed you as well. The children and I had an outing today and I must say, I will be very thankful to have Buffy home soon. Lily is a little ball of boundless, inquisitive energy and Ollie, while a mellow baby, is still a baby. Frankly I am exhausted."

"Poor Giles," Willow sympathized. "If you just want to sleep in tomorrow morning, I can bring my things over, crash in the guest room, and get up with the kids."

"No, no, we'll manage, thank you. Buffy will be home tomorrow. I'm heading to bed and will nap with the children in the late morning before we head out to the airport."

"Okay. Are we all still on for Sunday?"

"Moviefest at Xander and Sophie's?"

"Yep. Kid friendly, Sophie approved."

Giles smiled. "We'll be there. Goodnight, Willow."

"Night, Giles."

He rang off and lay back on the bed. His eyes closed on their own volition.

—

Upon setting down her suitcase and shucking off her shoes, Buffy tiptoed silently into the house, trying to remember where the floorboards creaked. The house was still new to her, having just moved in two months before Oliver's birth. Their flat in Southwark wouldn't accommodate a family of four. The children would have had to share a room and Giles would have had to give up his study which surely would have driven her crazy. Instead, they bought the house in Hampstead Heath from his cousin who decided to make his move to Johannesburg a permanent one. The four bedrooms suited them well, along with the expansive garden in the back for the children to play in.

Buffy made her way upstairs to check on Lily first. She found her daughter sprawled across her bed sleeping soundly and she watched her little girl with a great sense of contentment. To Buffy, Lily was a mini Giles, inquisitive and always learning, already reading, and asking questions about anything and everything. She was also a fearless explorer and loved going on outings. Both Buffy and Giles needed to keep an eye out for her as she had a tendency to wander off when her curiosity took over.

Leaning over, Buffy kissed her daughter's cheek and tucked the covers back around her. "Sweet dreams, my little love," she whispered as she closed the door behind her before making her way to the Oliver's room. The baby was awake, contentedly cooing to himself in his crib as he looked up at the mobile hanging above him. "How's my happy boy?" she greeted with a smile.

Little Oliver tracked his eyes to his mother and let out a squeal of delight as he formed a toothless grin and pumped his arms and legs in furious excitement. Buffy picked him up and kissed his chubby little cheek, before taking him over to the glider and sitting down with him. They snuggled together for several minutes before he started to root, looking for her breast. She obliged him and once he was finished, he fell back asleep. Setting the baby back in the crib, she went in search of Giles, surprised that he hadn't heard them through the monitor and come in to greet her.

She found him in their bedroom still dressed and asleep on top of the duvet, curled up around her pillow. God, how she missed him. She hadn't slept well in the ten days she had been gone, and by the looks of things, neither had Giles - and the added difficulty of single parenting a toddler and an infant had to be rough on him.

Needing to be near him, she crawled into bed behind him and snuggled up as closely as she could. His hand came up to cradle hers against his chest and he sighed contentedly in his sleep when she kissed the back of his head. She laid her head against his pillow and watched him breathe, enjoying his nearness. As he settled back into a deep slumber, Giles' grip loosened on her hand and she absently started to caress his chest. His scent invaded her nostrils and intoxicated her senses and she knew she needed to get up before she started to take advantage of him. The poor guy clearly was exhausted if he hadn't heard her come in.

Reluctantly, Buffy rose and headed to the bathroom. She'd been traveling for over fifteen hours, having visited the office in Seattle, and she was in desperate need of a shower. After setting the water temperature, she stripped off her clothes and climbed into the shower, standing beneath the hot water for several minutes and allowing it to soothe her sore and cramped muscles before reaching for the shampoo and starting to lather her hair. After rinsing out the soap, she felt strong hands behind her start to massage in the conditioner.

She let out a happy sigh as she leaned back into her husband's strong chest. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"You should have told me you were coming home early," he stated quietly, leaning in to kiss her shoulder. "I could've asked Willow to babysit and collected you at the airport."

"It was unexpected. We finished up early and I happened to call the airline seeing if there was any room available on an earlier flight. Lucky me there was thanks to the luxury of being able to fly first class."

Having finished with the conditioner, Giles dropped his arms around her waist and gently nipped at her earlobe, murmuring suggestively, "I'm glad you are home. I've missed you."

Buffy wiggled her bottom against his arousal in response. "I can tell," she responded in a saucy tone before she turned around and drew his head down to hers for a steamy kiss. Her tongue tussled with his as their passion grew and his hands wandered over her hips and buttocks, squeezing her cheeks and drawing her closer into his body.

When she ended the kiss, she leaned back into the spray of water and reached up to sluice the conditioner out of her hair. In doing so, she presented her breasts to her husband, who took the opportunity to tease her nipples with his tongue. She stayed in that position even after her hair was completely rinsed, enjoying the attention he was lavishing on her body, only to let out a soft moan of protest when he pulled away and started to lather up the loofa with the body wash. Once it was nice and soapy, he began to wash her back and shoulders.

"How about you? Do you need a scrub down?" she asked, placing a kiss on his chest just above his heart before dragging her tongue down to his nipple and circling it.

He hissed in appreciation and shook his head. "I managed to grab a shower while the children were napping this afternoon."

Buffy bent her knees and kissed her way down his torso to his waist. "Have they been good for you?"

"Absolute angels, darling, but let's not discuss them now," he pleaded as she licked her way further down his body until she was kneeling in front of him.

"No, there are other pressing matters," she agreed, lipping the head of his extremely aroused cock.

Giles threaded his fingers through her hair and placed the loofa into the shampoo caddy, anticipating her next move. When she encircled the base with her hand and took the rest of his length into her mouth, his knees almost gave out and he braced his free hand against the cool tiles for support. "Oh god, that's wonderful, Buffy!" he stated, his voice gruff with need.

The trip she had taken was the first time they had been separated for more than a couple days since he'd asked her to marry him in Paris four years ago. Every conference he'd attended and every business meeting that had taken her abroad since, they'd done together, including Lily after she'd come along. But the flight to Seattle was just too long to take Ollie at such a young age, and though it had been a difficult choice to her husband and children behind, Buffy knew she had to make the trip alone, and both the distance and time difference had been taken their toll on the both of them.

Feeling the trembling in his legs, Buffy released him and kissed her way back up his body, her hands exploring his sides and back as she went. Giles whimpered at the loss of her mouth around him.

"Not here," she whispered against his neck. "I wouldn't want to explain the concussion to the EMTs."

"Probably wise. You know what that does to me," he agreed softly before covering her lips with his. He reached for the loofa and finished soaping her up as he continued to make love to her mouth.

Impatience won out and she broke the kiss. "Towel off and get that cute butt back into bed while I finish up, mister. I have plans."

"Do you now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, though the smile he gave her lit up his face.

"Oh yes, and I've had ten long days to think about it."

"Then I shall await my lady anon," he murmured against her lips before taking them in a scorching kiss and leaving her breathless before exiting the shower.

When Buffy returned to their bedroom, Giles was lying on the bed propped up on the pillows waiting for her, his lower half covered by a sheet. He had turned out the lights and lit two candles, bathing the room in a warm glow.

She crawled playfully onto the bed. "I'm digging the mood lighting, Doctor Giles, now, where were we?" she asked seductively as she pulled the sheets down, exposing his naked body. He was half erect when she settled herself between his legs. "Oh, yes, here." She delicately ran her fingers along his rapidly swelling cock.

He instantly sat up, grabbed her wrists and pulled him up towards him. She gave a little squeal of delight when he rolled her over so that she was beneath him and held her wrists tightly against the mattress.

"I have plans too," he stated huskily as he nipped at her lips.

"Show me," she breathed.

Giles gave her a wild grin and released her wrists, leaning down to tease her lips with his tongue. When she moved to kiss him, he pulled away, only to tease her in the same manner when she gave up and lowered her head back down onto the bed. She tired of his little game after the third time and reached up with her hands to pull his head down, her lips and tongue meeting his in desperation.

Buffy's hips moved against his as she writhed beneath him while his hands explored the gentle curves of her body and he trailed loving kisses down her neck and between the valley of her perfect breasts. Unable to resist her demands, he ground his hips against hers, his hard cock slipping between her slick folds and over her highly sensitized clitoris.

"Oh god! More!" she cried as he moaned into her chest.

Giles continued the action a few times before forcing himself to pull away, chuckling when he heard her agonizing groan of frustration. "Soon enough, love," he murmured against her sternum as he trailed open-mouthed kisses down her torso and over her mons. He paused at his prize and looked up to watch her. At his hesitation, she looked down at him with a questioning look. "Did you touch yourself whilst you were away?"

Buffy dropped her head back onto the pillow. "Once."

"Just once?" he asked, rubbing his chin against her vulva.

Writhing beneath the friction, Buffy wanted more. "Okay, twice."

He nipped at her inner thigh. "Did you come?"

"Yes," she breathed. "Both times."

"What were you thinking about?" He pushed the folds back with his fingers and explored her sex with his tongue.

"The first time, nothing," she confessed, twisting the sheets beneath her hands. "I just needed release. It was a trying day."

"And the second?" he asked before running his tongue up the length of her slit, taking her clitoris between his lips, and sucking at the highly sensitized bundle of nerves.

Buffy stifled her moan, biting her lip as he brought her closer to release.

"Tell me, what were you thinking about? What got you off?" he asked again.

Closing her eyes against the sensations the vibrations of his baritone voice and his warm breath against her clitoris, Buffy tried to concentrate and tell him. "That you... surprised me at the hotel and walked in on me... touching myself…" she stopped as he circled his tongue around the engorged nub.

"Yes?" he encouraged, his lust filled eyes meeting hers when she looked down at him.

He looked so sexy between her legs, anticipating her words and thoroughly enjoying their little game. "You made your way towards me, unbuttoning your dress shirt… when you got the the foot of the bed, you started to unbuckle your belt, but I stopped you... making you watch as I brought myself to orgasm."

"Oh god!" Giles could feel his self control spiraling. "Show me," he demanded as he sat back up on his heels.

Her green eyes met his, taking in his pleading look. She gave him a devilish half smile and moved to position herself better against the pillows, giving herself a better view in which to watch him watch her. Dragging her fingers over her drenched curls, she started a slow circling motion around her clitoris.

Giles' breathing hitched as he watched her touch herself, her fingers dripping with her wetness, his hands clenching into fists at his sides as he resisted the urge to take his cock in his hand and bring himself off.

She bit her lip as she found the perfect combination of pressure and speed to keep her at a constant state of arousal, but not push herself towards orgasm yet. "Tell me, did you have a little personal time while I was gone, Giles?"

"No," he whimpered, noticing the slight tremble of her legs.

"Why not?"

He couldn't resist anymore. He ran his hand along his rampant length before squeezing it, letting out a soft moan at the blissful sensation of spreading the dewey drop of precum over the glans.

"Because I was so damned... exhausted all the time," he ground out, matching his strokes to hers. God, he wanted to come, wanted to bury himself so deeply within her that he would lose all sense of himself, wanted the oblivion, and then to find himself in the warmth of her embrace when he came down.

Buffy increased the pace, watching her husband come undone before her. It was such a sexy scene as he bit down on his lower lip, the muscles in his neck and shoulders cording under the strain of desire as he touched himself. She knew he wanted to wait for her, but without any release the past week and a half, he was close. Removing fingers from her clit, she sat up and brought them to her mouth, sucking her juices off her ring and middle fingers.

"Come inside me," she invited in a whisper.

Giles groaned, his mouth desperately finding hers, his tongue tasting the mixture of toothpaste and the pure essence that was Buffy. He'd had every intention of recreating her fantasy for her, but, at her invitation, the urge to lose himself within her depths and find completion together had taken over.

"Yes," he agreed as his eyes met hers, holding them as he pushed himself inside her. He let out a ragged sigh, resting his forehead between her neck and shoulder as he tried to gain some semblance of control. "God, you feel amazing," he stated between gasps.

"I missed you so much," she whispered against his ear. "I'm hovering on the edge. Please… take me over."

It wasn't going to take long for either of them. Giles ran his nose up the side of her neck, his lips finding hers as he started to thrust. She trailed her fingernails down his back and grabbed his ass encouraging him to increase the pace, aching for sweet release.

"So close," he grunted, teeth clenched, feeling her inner walls milk him.

"Let go."

Giles pounded into her, losing all control and taking her with him, both of them desperately trying to keep quiet so as not to wake their children. They lay there for a few long moments as they recovered their breathing. Rolling over onto his side, he held her to him, and chuckled to himself.

"What?" Buffy asked, raising herself up onto her elbow to look him in the face.

"I adore you," he answered with a smile as he reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

She answered him with a smile of her own, "Well, I adore you too."

Rolling onto his back he answered, "I'm a lucky man."

"Damn straight," she stated, laying back down and resting her head on his shoulder. "Now why did you laugh?"

"Just thinking we need to soundproof the room." he yawned and kissed the top of her head. "We'd best get into our pyjamas. Lily will find her way in here far too early."

"Long gone are the days of waking up in each other's arms naked," Buffy lamented, hugging him close.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, though," Giles declared.

"No," she agreed happily, a satisfied smile brightening her face. "This is perfect. You and me, living our happily ever after with Lily and Ollie."

"Perfect," he repeated, his lips brushing against hers.

He squeezed her to him tightly, his mind wandering to all those times where he'd come close to losing her forever. How bleak life had been without her. And how stupid he'd been to let her go when she'd declared her love for him, wasting the better half of a year before trying to make amends and realizing he didn't want to live without her.

"Be here with me now," Buffy said, kissing his chest. Though he'd remained silent, she felt the deprecating guffaw escape his lungs. "No brooding."

"In three months I want to take you away for our anniversary. Just you and me." he said suddenly. "It falls on a bank holiday this year. We can ask Willow and Dawn to stay with the children, and take a long weekend in Paris."

"Revisit the scene of the crime?" she teased.

He looked down on her, a lazy but sated grin adorning his face. "I thought you liked being married to me."

"Love it, big guy. And I love you, but let's get cleaned up and into our pj's. It's three in the morning and I am ready to pass out from exhaustion."

—

As expected, Lily hopped into bed with Buffy and Giles around seven, happily surprised to find her mother home. "Mummy!" she shrieked, snuggling into Buffy. "Welcome home! I missed you so so much!"

"I missed you too, sweetie!" Buffy replied, taking her daughter into her arms and cuddling with her beneath the blankets.

"Daddy, join in!" the little girl commanded as she reached for his arm.

Giles huffed and Lily tugged on his arm and he huffed some more, feigning sleep while she tugged harder. Finally he turned over and made a growling noise while attacking his daughter with a barrage of raspberries to her tummy. She squealed.

"Mummy save me!" Lily called breathlessly between giggles, but Buffy joined in by holding the squirming girl still for her husband to blow more raspberries as Lily giggled away. When Giles stopped, she begged, "More, Daddy, more!"

Oliver then decided he needed attention and let out the most pitiful wail over the intercom. Giles and Buffy looked at each other, the silent communication they'd used over the years perfected as he nodded at her and turned to his daughter, "I think maybe we should let Mummy go take care of Ollie while we go down and make some breakfast. What do you think?"

Lily gave her father a wide grin. "Pancakes. Mummy's favorite!"

"Yes, indeed."

"With blueberries!" she declared adamantly.

"With blueberries," Giles agreed as he tapped her nose with his forefinger. "Lily's favorite."

"Yay!"

After breakfast Buffy and Giles took the children for a walk through the Heath, stopping at one of the playgrounds to allow Lily to explore and play with other children. After a few rousing games of hide and seek and climbing over the apparatuses, the little girl called her mother over. Buffy passed little Oliver over to Giles and placed a soft kiss on her husband's lips. With a full heart, he watched her laugh and push Lily on the swing higher and higher, complete joy on their faces, his son snuggling against his chest, knowing that after everything, all the hardships and all the heartache, that they'd found a profound peace and happiness together. They were home.

11


End file.
